Without presenting a single aesthetic or proposal, contemporary architecture combines elements from different styles, reinterprets previous trends and mixes them, which confirms its non-obvious and plural character . In celebration of World Architecture Day , we have selected 10 great professionals who are making their mark on international contemporary architecture by exploring creativity, technology and, above all, sustainability in their projects. 1. Renzo Piano
With several honors and awards throughout his career, including the Pritzker Prize, Renzo Piano is an Italian architect who always had a vision beyond his time. By exploring different materials and developing projects full of symbolism and with different themes, the architect stood out for inserting futuristic elements and adding values related to mysticism and spirituality to his architecture. Renzo Piano is also one of the leading names in High Tech architecture, a style defined by the use of high-tech industrial materials and complex, robust constructions. 2. Zaha Hadid
Iraqi-British Zaha Hadid is known for her intensely futuristic architecture characterized by curved facades , sharp angles, impulsive lines, and stark materials such as concrete and steel . Centro Heydar Aliyev, Azerbaijão (Andrea Pistolesi/CASACOR)
Hadid's designs, many of which transform depending on the viewer's perspective , turn architectural convention on its head
. Galaxy Soho, Pequim (Reprodução/CASACOR)
Over the past two decades, her work has been honored with a long list of awards, including being the first woman to win the Pritzker Prize in 2004. 3. Bjarke Ingels
Danish architect Bjarke Ingels ' approach to architecture is nothing short of original. On the one hand, it is playful and practical, on the other, it is responsible and focuses on fundamental issues such as sustainable development . O-Tower, China (Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)/CASACOR)
According to the architect, sustainability should not be a limiter of quality of life, but rather a factor that enhances and is part of people's daily lives and routines . Museu Atelier Audemars Piguet, Suíça (Iwan Baan/CASACOR)
All of his projects and constructions have at their core the purpose of “ think big” , thus, it is by thinking big that the Danish combines a character of social concern with elements of entertainment and environmental preservation . 4. Daniel Libeskind
Polish-American architect Daniel Libeskind is known for his ability to evoke cultural memory in buildings through a cultured and singular language . Its architecture makes extensive use of majestic angles , geometries that fit together, zigzag plans and labyrinthine shapes. The architect is responsible for the Jewish Museum in Berlin, Germany, and the reconstruction of the space where the World Trade Center was located. 5. Jeanne Gang
Jeanne Gang is one of the most recognized architects in North America and was the first woman in the world to design a skyscraper! His best-known work is the Aqua Towers skyscraper located in Chicago, USA, a building with a unique and intriguing design that stands out in a city known for its large and emblematic buildings. 6. Elizabeth Diller
Considered by TIME magazine to be the most influential architect in the world, Polish architect Elizabeth Diller has dedicated herself over the last 30 years to constructing buildings and installations that challenge classical understanding by mixing art, architecture and the search for the social function of space. Provocative, the architect does not limit herself to creating just what is expected, but rather something that really impacts people's lives and makes them think. Among his main achievements are the Broad Art Museum in Los Angeles, the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, and the famous High Line , an elevated urban park built on the tracks of an old abandoned railroad in New York. 7. Kazuyo Sejima
Transparency, lightness, clean shapes and smooth surfaces unite the projects of Japanese architect Kazuyo Sejima. In 1995, the architect founded SANAA together with architect Ryue Nishizawa, an architecture studio in Tokyo that designs innovative buildings in Japan and around the world. La Samaritaine, Paris / (Simón García/CASACOR)
Among the architect's most important projects is the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, Japan, winner of the Golden Lion in 2004 as the most significant work at the 9th International Exhibition of the Venice Architecture Biennale. Kazuyo Sejima was the first woman to be appointed director of the Architecture section of the Venice Biennale and the second to receive the Pritzker Prize after Zaha Hadid. 8. Norman Foster
Known worldwide for his bold style of designing important buildings, the English architect Norman Foster is revered as one of the leading names in High Tech architecture. Apple Park (Apple's global headquarters in California), Maxixe (London's first ecological skyscraper), the sensational Great Court shell of the British Museum in London and the intervention in the Reichstag in Berlin (with its large transparent dome crossed by a long walkway) are just some of the hundreds of works signed by Foster. 9. Amanda Levete
Awarded the Stirling Prize by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) , British architect Amanda Levete is the founder and manager of Studio AL_A, known for its balanced approach to intuitive and strategic design, constant innovation, intensive research and attention to detail. (Francisco Nogueira/CASACOR)
Among his main achievements are the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology (MAAT) in Lisbon, a work of art that adapts perfectly to the landscape, the Central Embassy in Bangkok, and the Selfridges department store building in the United Kingdom. . 10. Tadao Ando
Self-taught and extremely concerned with nature and sustainable issues, Tadao Ando is a Japanese architect who prioritizes harmony in his projects. “When I design something, my brain and my hands work together,” says the architect who combines beauty and functionality in his works. Owner of a minimalist language in which light is the most prominent element, the architect plays with brightness and shadow and projects them onto his concrete works in an almost magical way. Tadao Ando links his work both to Le Corbusier's Modern Movement and to the expressive materiality of traditional Japanese architecture. The 4x4 House, the Water Temple in Tomamu, the Church of Light in Ibaraki and many other important works have in common volumes of concrete and wood crossed by light and emotional paths . 
